Major: Biology
Minor: Neuroscience

Laboratories | Equipment | Field Study | Special Opportunities  | Funding | Outcomes | Faculty | Course Materials

The program in biology at Wesleyan College has experienced a period of tremendous growth and development. New equipment, considerable extramural funding, a revised curriculum, newly renovated teaching and research laboratories and preparatory rooms, and recent additions to the faculty have all contributed to a dynamic and expanding program.

Neuroscience minors explore the nervous system and its contributions to human and animal behavior. This minor takes an interdisciplinary approach integrating information from both biology and psychology. The neuroscience minor coupled with a major in biology or psychology provides an excellent background to pursue varied career opportunities. Many biology majors also find that they can obtain a second major in chemistry by taking several additional chemistry/math courses beyond those required for the biology degree. For information about specific courses offered, please see our Academic Catalogue.

The Biology Department maintains two large, adjoining teaching laboratories. Labs are open all day for students to spend additional time in investigation and study and also are available in the evenings to those students requiring access. Portions of some upper-level courses are additionally supported by the dedicated research laboratories of department faculty.

Laboratory stock and preparation rooms adjoin the teaching labs, are administered by a professional laboratory coordinator, and are maintained by student workers majoring in biology. The chemical storage and preparation areas are under constant, negative, atmospheric pressure to provide a safe work environment for faculty and students and are in compliance with federal regulations for the safe use and storage of chemicals and hazardous wastes.

Additionally, each member of the faculty has an individual research laboratory to support his/her research program. Each of these areas, including molecular genetics/cell biology, neurophysiology/behavior, botany/ecology, and developmental biology/reproductive biology, have been renovated recently and include a microscopy imaging suite, fluorescence microscopy room, a tissue culture lab, and animal care facilities. As a result, each area represents modern facilities specifically designed to meet the needs of our faculty as they pursue their own research interests and involve students in their research programs.

The Wesleyan campus includes an 80-acre arboretum and 6.3-acre lake which support a diverse set of plants as well as resident and migratory wildlife. The arboretum is used extensively as a natural laboratory for ecological, botanical, and zoological lab exercises and student research projects.

The Munroe Science Center, a dynamic new campus centerpiece, opened in August 2007 and doubled the working and teaching space for the Biology Department. The new state-of-the-art science facility will serve an increasing number of Wesleyan students enrolled and majoring in one or more fields of science while also addressing the great need throughout our state and nation for women who are skilled in medicine, scientific research, computer technology, and mathematics. Through its eleven teaching laboratories and nine research laboratories, the new facility encourages faculty/student collaboration on research projects, contains interactive laboratories for specific experimentation, and offers individualized instruction in an environmentally efficient and safe setting.

New state-of-the-art laboratories include cell biology, ecology, physiology, immunology, and instrumental analysis labs as well as general biology, physics, and chemistry labs. While teaching laboratories serve as classrooms, a small seminar room and two technologically advanced classrooms also are used for instruction. Biology faculty members enjoy two large introductory teaching laboratories and a dedicated office/research lab/teaching lab suite, as well as expanded preparatory, tissue culture, microscopy, equipment, animal colony, ancillary research, and storage spaces. Among its many specialty science spaces, the 42,000-square-foot facility also includes an astronomy observation deck, a greenhouse, a vivarium, and a community learning center.

Return to top

Equipment

Both federal and private grants supporting teaching and research in the biological sciences over the last five years have allowed the biology department to acquire in excess of $500,000 of new, specialized equipment beyond the basic glassware, compound and dissecting microscopes, balances, stirring hotplates, autoclaves, pH meters, voltmeters, spectrophotometers, prepared slide sets, models, computers, and software which meet the minimal requirements for modern instruction in the biological sciences. All equipment is available for both instruction and research projects performed by students under the direction of departmental faculty.

Return to top

Field Study

The college internship program provides opportunities for students to gain practical experience in a wealth of different venues in and around Macon. Biology students have held internships in sports medicine, large and small animal veterinary medicine, wildlife management, infectious disease, obstetrics/gynecology, plastic surgery, pediatrics, and gerontology. Some biology students have participated in independent research projects at neighboring research laboratories including Mercer Medical School located across town in Macon.

Additionally, Wesleyan students majoring in the natural sciences have been accepted into national summer research programs sponsored by the National Science Foundation. In recent years, students have participated in these programs at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Baylor College of Medicine, Michigan State University, Roswell Park Cancer Center, Pepperdine University, and the Medical College of Georgia.

Return to top

Special Opportunities

Wesleyan offers individual mentoring and advising in health-related pre-professional programs including medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, allied health fields, and veterinary medicine. Faculty advisors for each of these programs meet regularly with students to provide assistance with such issues as program requirements, course schedules, and applications; and regularly sponsored professional visitations.

The biology department at Wesleyan provides students with directed research opportunities in a diverse set of outgoing studies. Related majors and minors include chemistry, mathematics, physics, neuroscience, computer science, and psychology. The Neuroscience Program is one of only four undergraduate programs in the southeastern United States, and one of only three at women’s colleges. The Wesleyan campus itself offers many field research opportunities in our 80-acre wooded arboretum and a 6.3-acre lake.

In addition to the instructional program within the Biology Department, there exist numerous opportunities for additional research and clinical experiences in a nearly limitless array of biological subdisciplines. The college internship program provides opportunities for students to gain practical experience in a wealth of different venues in and around Macon.

The biology department also maintains an active, cooperative relationship with Oak Ridge National Laboratories in Tennessee, including a full semester internship for academic credit at Oak Ridge. In recent years, biology students have conducted cutting-edge research with leading research scientists on the staff of Oak Ridge and its affiliated national laboratories and have utilized some of the most advanced technology available for scientific inquiry.

The Biology Department of Wesleyan College offers: an excellent faculty; some of the finest and most modern instructional laboratory equipment available anywhere to undergraduate students; a focused, balanced curriculum that embraces hands-on, connected, and collaborative learning; and numerous, diverse choices of extracurricular learning and research activities for all of our students. Small class sizes and the opportunity to conduct original research with individual faculty mentors foster a keen sense of individual identity for all of our students and permit and support close awareness of student interests, goals, and vocational aspirations.

Return to top

Extramural Funding

The Biology program is proud of its record of extramural grant support from federal agencies. The grants listed below are all in direct support of laboratory instruction and research in biology.

National Science Foundation: 
 “Testing Campus-Based GRE Prep Courses.” Gender Equity Program. Award Amount:  $59,532. Project Director: Dr. Wanda T. Schroeder

“Neuroscience at an Undergraduate Women’s College: Implementing Modern Methodologies at the Cellular, Systems, and Behavioral Levels.” Course, Curriculum, and Laboratory Improvement Grant DUE9950546. 8/99–7/01. Award Amount (with matching funds): $34,846. Project Director: Dr. Barry K. Rhoades

“Incorporating Modern Molecular/Cellular Technology into the Biology Curriculum in an Undergraduate Women’s College.” Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Grant DUE9751089. 7/97–6/99. Award Amount (with matching funds): $79, 778. Project Director: Dr. Wanda T. Schroeder

“Introduction of Enhanced Technologies for the Experimentally Based Laboratory Study of Animal Systems.” Instrumentation and Laboratory Improvement Grant DUE9452613. 9/94–8/96. Award Amount (with matching funds): $54,156. Project Director: Dr. Ronald B. Toll

“Acquisition of an Image Analysis Work Station at Wesleyan College.” Major Research Instrumentation Program: Instrument Developement and Acquisition Grant DBI-0116189. 8/15/01–8/14/02. Project Directors: Dr. Holly Boettger-Tong and Dr. Wanda T. Schroeder

Georgia Department of Natural Resources:
“Bird Appreciation and Outdoor Education for Girl Scouts in Middle Georgia.” Nowgame Wildlife Fund. 4/00–4/01. Award Amount : $1,828. Project Director: Dr. James B. Ferrari

National Institutes of Health (NIH):
“Transcriptional Regulation of Epidermal Surface Antigen.” National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal, and Skin Diseases Grant. Amount of Award: $130,121. Principal Investigator: Dr. Wanda T. Schroeder

The Biology Department thrives in large part due to the generous financial support from private donors such as the Munroe family who assist student research in the natural sciences and mathematics at Wesleyan through student scholarships and capital purchase funds.

Return to top

Outcomes

Wesleyan biology majors are consistently accepted into excellent graduate and professional schools, including medical school, and have gone on to fulfilling careers in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, research, teaching, and technical positions with private, state, and federal agencies.  Of the Wesleyan biology majors who graduated in the past five years, fourteen percent secured work in a field related to their undergraduate degree while eighty percent pursued graduate or professional school.

You’ll find recent Wesleyan graduates pursuing post baccalaureate degrees related to the field of biology at countless prestigious institutions across the world including Washington University, The University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Clemson University, The University of Texas (Houston) Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M, The University of Georgia, Northwestern University, Emory University, Vanderbilt University, Duke University School of Medicine, Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, George Washington University School of Medicine, University of Georgia Veterinary School, and the University of the West Indies Veterinary School.

Biology majors have unprecedented opportunities for using their undergraduate education in a wide variety of occupations. A liberal arts background equips biology majors with a unique perspective that makes them highly competitive for many professional opportunities. Wesleyan biology majors have chosen a wide variety of post-graduate options.  Meet Ihunanya Mbata, a recent graduate who's already pursuing an exciting career in the field of scientific research.  We think she has a great story! 

The post-graduate choices of Ihunanya's classmates exemplify the diverse career opportunities available for biology majors. One classmate is pursuing a doctorate in molecular and cellular biology, another is also pursuing a graduate degree but in the field of public health, while several others are preparing for careers in nursing and medical practice.  One biology major, who was also a member of the Wesleyan College IHSA Equestrian Team, is combining her degree with her love of animals at the University of California Veterinary School. Another recent graduate combined her biology major with a minor in studio art and, after graduation, was accepted into dental school at the Medical College of Georgia. She graduated with a Doctor of Dental Science in 2006.

Find out what you can do with a degree in biology!  More.

Return to top

Faculty

Holly L. Boettger-Tong Associate Professor of Biology and Center for Women in Science and Technology Director. B.S. (Biology) St. Louis University 1986; M.S. (Biology) University of Alabama at Birmingham 1988; Ph.D. (Biology) University of Alabama at Birmingham 1992. My lab uses both in vitro and in vivo model systems to analyze the molecular mechanisms which control female reproductive tract cellular proliferation. In addition, I am interested in the role of the retinoic acid signaling pathway as it influences early vertebrate embryo development. Taylor 114. hboettger-tong@wesleyancollege.edu

James B. Ferrari Associate Professor of Biology and Wesleyan College Arboretum Director B.A. (Biology and Northern Studies) Middlebury College 1986; Ph.D. (Ecology) University of Minnesota. My research interests include bird-plant interactions, seasonal patterns of bird diversity, leaf litter dispersal and effects of leaf decomposition on soil nitrogen cycling rates, and forest ecology. Taylor 211E. jferrari@wesleyancollege.edu

Barry K. Rhoades Associate Professor of Biology and Neuroscience Program Director. B.A. (Psychology) Colorado College 1976; A.M. (Biopsychology) University of Chicago 1981; Ph.D. (Physiology) University of California at Berkeley 1990. My primary interests include physiology of the sense of smell in mammals, modeling and analyzing neural network interactions, behavioral ecology of reptiles and amphibians, and electronic and computer simulations for teaching neuroscience and animal behavior. Taylor 108. brhoades@wesleyancollege.edu

Wanda T. Schroeder Associate Professor of Biology, Munroe Chair of Life Sciences, and Department of Biology Chair. A.B. (Biology) Wesleyan College 1980; Ph.D. (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences 1987. My research is focused on elucidating the molecular events involved in regulating differentiation in epidermal keratinocytes and uterine and vaginal epithelial cells. Specifically, I study and compare gene expression of such differentiation- specific proteins as transglutaminase, keratin, and cornifin in normal and cancerous states in these tissues. Taylor 105. wschroeder@wesleyancollege.edu

Return to top